Rich, fruity and very indulgent… no, I’m not talking about myself (if only). I’m describing a wonderful pudding. Bread and Butter pudding is a great classic British pudding dating back as far as the 18^th century and I love it, but here’s my 21^st century version and I love this one too.

Serves: In theory it should give about a dozen helpings, but I think it will be more like 6 very large portions if people serve themselves

Time: Less than an hour

Level: Simple

Need: A baking tin or ovenproof dish, probably around 20x30cm/8×12″

Ingredients*

Around 250g/9oz brioche (make your own if you want; I just used left-over shop bought.)

Some Butter – enough to cover one side of all the brioche

Around 150g/5½oz blueberries

Around 60g/2oz dried fruit (e.g. currants, raisins, sultanas)

2 eggs, plus 1 yolk

200ml/7fl oz full fat milk**

200ml/7fl oz double cream**

60g/2oz golden caster sugar (or use white if preferred)

A sprinkling of Demerara sugar

* Most of these measurements are a guide. Be prepared to adapt along the way.

** If you only have semi-skimmed milk then replace 50ml with 50ml extra cream. If you only have fat-free skimmed milk then this recipe isn’t really for you, sorry.

*** I’ve kept this as a simple recipe. Some other additions could be a tsp of vanilla extract into the milky mixture or a tsp ground cinnamon. Lemon or Orange zest could also give extra zing.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C / 140°C Fan / 325°F / Gas 3. Butter inside the tin/dish.

2. Whisk together the whole eggs & yolk, milk, cream and caster sugar in a large mixing bowl or a jug (which makes pouring easier).

3. Liberally butter the brioche then cut or tear into pieces and fit them into your dish/tin. Push the blueberries and dried fruit into the bread and/or the gaps. You may need to do a second layer. If so, pour on some of the milky mixture before the second layer.

4. Add the rest of the buttered brioche and the milky mixture. Leave it to stand for about 15 minutes then sprinkle over the Demerara.

5. Bake for 25–35 minutes, or until brown on top, but still a little wobbly.

6. If the pudding is fully baked but still pale in colour pop it under a hot grill for a few minutes or give it a blast with a blow torch.